Mexican Primera, Week 13: It Ain’t All About The Super Clasico, Monterrey-Santos Sqaure Off

Both Toluca and Puebla have scored in the first half of their match, going into halftime tied up at 1-1.

The first goal of the match came in the 18th minute from Puebla’s red hot attacker Gabriel Pereyra. Felipe Ayala took a corner kick which found Pereyra, who was lurking in the middle of the penalty area. Toluca defended poorly and Pereyra easily headed in the goal from very close range.

Monterrey’s attacking stars Humberto Suazo, Neri Cardozo, and Osvaldo Martinez have combined to put Monterrey up 2-1 on Santos in the 48th minute. Cardozo initiated the move on the left hand side of the box and played a one-two with Suazo before unloading a shot on goal. His shot was saved by Osvaldo Sanchez, but fell into the path of Osvaldo Martinez. Martinez made no mistake with his finish, blasting it into the back of the net.

Since Monterrey scored and before the goal, Santos have looked dangerous. This seems eerily similar to the first half. It would be surprising if this was the end of the scoring, both teams look like they might have more goals in them. Santos would have more if it weren’t for goalkeeper Jonothan Orozco, who has been absolutely brilliant for Monterrey.

After only five minutes, Humberto Suazo has put Monterrey up 1-0 on Santos with an absolute wonder strike. Unassisted from 30 yards, the Chilean international let rip with his left foot from just right of the center of the field. His low bullet skidded past Oswaldo Sanchez at his far post and into the back of the net. The speed and precision of the strike gave him absolutely no chance. The ball took an awkward bounce about three yards in front of him, flying over his outstretched hand.

The first five minutes were an up and down affair with both teams getting into attacking areas. Both teams appear to be lining up in matching 4-4-2 formations, but they certainly aren’t cancelling each other out. Superstar strikers Suazo and Cristian Benitez are getting service and looking dangerous. Santos remain scoreless, but Benitez has hit the crossbar.

Jaguares pulled off a dominant win over Liguilla rivals Pachuca, but they can be considered fortunate. Not because the win itself was lucky - they performed admirably and deserved a win - but because they only had to face any opposition for about 15 minutes of the match.

The 15 minute period where the Tuzos cared to provide any opposition to Jaguares came between Jose Torres being substituted on and Jackson Martinez’s goal. For most of the match, Pachuca employed a curious strategy in which they regarded their midfield as completely irrelevant. Jaguares controlled the possession, created all the chances, and probably should have won by four or five goals. Danilinho put on an absolute show, despite an unfortunate miss near the very end of the match. Thanks to a win by San Luis on Friday, the Tuzos are now in very rough shape in Group Two.

One of the Western Hemisphere’s great rivalries will draw plenty of attention on Sunday, but there are some quality match-ups in the Mexican Primera on Saturday that should serve as great warm-ups.

The best of these is the Monterrey-Santos Laguna match, the top two teams in Group 1 and so far two of the top teams in the entire league.